As one person commented, "This story is about abuse and neglect. It's absolute proof that the medical community has completely failed a generation of disabled children. After two decades of soaring autism rates, mainstream medicine has no understanding of how to help these affected patients nor do they have even the appearance of compassion or concern for what these children are going through."

In a surprise breakthrough, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute and their colleagues have found that microglia remove healthy neural progenitor cells (NPCs) through phagocytosis to control neuron production during brain development. This newly discovered mechanism keeps neuron numbers in check, preventing brain overgrowth.

In a surprise breakthrough, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute and their colleagues have found that microglia remove healthy neural progenitor cells (NPCs) through phagocytosis to control neuron production during brain development. This newly discovered mechanism keeps neuron numbers in check, preventing brain overgrowth. The discovery could open up new avenues for brain research and lead to therapies for a variety of neurological conditions. Read the Story

Microglia are the immune component cell of the central nervous system. Similar to macrophages, microglia provide the brain's primary defense against pathogens and foreign bodies, clear away dying cells and help repair neural damage. When inactive, they act as sentinels. When a problem is located, they activate and eliminate it. However, until recently, no one had realized the important roles they play in brain development.

Some practices used as "therapy" for autism in the United States amount to torture, a U.N. representative says. The U.N'’s Juan Mendez is the organization's special rapporteur on torture, and in his report examining torture worldwide, he's called out the only facility in the United States that uses "skin shocks" to 'treat' people with severe mental illness or developmental disabilities, including autism. That facility is the Judge Rotenberg Center(JRC), formerly the Behavioral Research Institute. While it once was located in California and then moved to Rhode Island, the facility is now sited in Massachusetts. Mendez expresses concern in his report (p. 84) that if Massachusetts becomes too hot to hold the JRC, the center might simply relocate again, and he urges action at the federal level to end the use of such aversives nationwide. Read the Story

The U.S. government appears to agree that the practice is insupportable, having been cited in Mendez's report (p. 83) as stating: "The use of aversive therapy by JRC has been challenged through a variety of state and federal legislative and judicial actions," including the Department of Justice's (DOJ) investigation into possible violations of civil rights laws, which remains open and ongoing. Yet the JRC remains open and ongoing... and shocking. Why is that?

Police charge 7-year-old with batteryMother says autistic son was provoked into hitting his teacher.

by Sarah Einselen, Pharos-Tribune

LOGANSPORT, IN - Police charged a 7-year-old with battery Wednesday after he punched a teacher in the nose.

The kindergarten student at Franklin Elementary School with a history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism and psychosis was suspended from school after the incident.

"We had a teacher that was struck in the nose by a student," said Franklin principal Hayley LaDow."A police report was filed. That police report has been turned over by the police to the prosecuting attorney and that prosecuting attorney is the one that determines whether charges will be filed." Read the Story

"At school, she added, he does not have an autism diagnosis for academic purposes - something she's tried multiple times to change. "I've gotten denied four times for the testing," said Velasquez.

What it's like to live with autism: new simulation Auti-Sim gives mother a sense of her daughter's life

SOPHIE WALKER, The Independent, UK

I spend a lot of time wondering what life is really like for my daughter, who has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. Watching her navigate the day-to-day is one thing: comprehending the sources of her meltdowns and frequent distress from the inside is something else entirely.

So I am both fascinated and a bit worried by the prospect of finding out for "real" how she experiences day-to-day life, albeit via a computer simulation. Read the Story

"Yes," she says. "I think it's useful because it makes you see how I feel when everything gets glitchy - when everyone is talking at once and it's getting me confused and my eyes can't keep up. People think it's funny to scream in the playground. I don't like it."